The ability to preserve biomedical substances has a great impact on the usefulness and applicability of such substances. This is especially true for important liquid or semi-solid substances whose vital components are prone to degradation and/or spoiling when left in liquid form for extended periods of time. One method routinely utilized for preserving liquid or semi-solid substances involves the removal of the aqueous component of such substances (e.g. freeze-drying) to produce a dry powder. While converting liquid substances into powder form may address the problems of degradation and spoiling, problems still arise as to how to reconstitute such powders back into usable liquid form in a convenient and practical fashion.
An example of an increasingly important biomedical substance is osteogenic Bone Paste (WO 98/40113). Osteogenic Bone Paste has provided surgeons with a revolutionary means for repairing serious bone defects, as well as other bone-related injuries and problems. While current methods of utilizing bone paste have shown promise, there is a constant need for devising new, cost-effective techniques of storing and preserving bone paste and other biomedical substances, which, in turn, will increase their usefulness and adaptability to medical applications.